WEDNESDAY, MAY 3,2D171 PAGE 9
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& STAFF EDITORIAL
ELENA HERNANDEZ I Designer
Mental illness terminology should not be used casually
HOW WE SEE IT
Elon University students should be more conscious of their word choice in
order to combat nogative stigmas of mental illness,
Too often, Elon University stu
dents use mental illness terminology
flippantly in casual conversations;
speaking phrases such as “Sorry, I’m
so OCD” or “Oh, I’m so depressed.”
Mental illness is an issue that
affects many students on Elon’s cam
pus. While not everyone suffers from
such an illness, mental health affects
us all. It deserves to be taken serious
ly and respected as a real problem
students are consistently facing.
For students who actually suffer
from these mental illnesses, using
this terminology is acceptable. But, if
they do not suffer from these illness
es, using these words trivializes the
issue of mental health and normalizes
it in a way that could be harmful to
those who actually suffer from men
tal illnesses.
When students use these illnesses
as adjectives to describe everyday
feelings or situations, they lessen the
severity of these words and minimize
the seriousness of these illnesses. This
contributes to the general culture of
not taking mental illnesses seriously.
Procrastinating on an assignment
is not the same thing as suffering
from attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder. Having a bad day is not the
same thing as having depression.
These illnesses can seriously impact
a student’s life. Someone suffering
from depression may not feel the moti
vation to go to class. A student with
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder may
find it difficult to live with a roommate
or even go about their daily life.
Using terms such as these could
also trigger harmful memories for
other students. For example, say
ing something “makes me want to
kill myself” can bring up suicidal
thoughts or feelings to those who
hear it. It is disrespectful to those
dealing with suicidal thoughts or
those with friends or family members
who have committed suicide to use
that word as if it means nothing.
We all need to be conscious of the
power behind our word choices. What
may seem like an innocent sentence
can actually contribute to the larger
stigmatization of mental illness. Using
these terms as adjectives contributes
to the concept that mental illnesses are
just in a person’s head or not some
thing to be taken seriously.
To combat the negative stigma of
mental illness and make the voices of
students with mental illnesses heard
on Elon’s campus, all students should
put more thought into what they say
and how they say it. Something as
simple as a change in word choice
can be vital in changing this negative
outlook on this issue.
Instead of using these words to
describe yourselves, educate yourself
on mental illness. Learn about the
warning signs of suicide and the
symptoms of depression or anxiety.
Attend events and join organizations
that work to educate students on
the seriousness of mental illness. Be
an ally to those who are suffering
— this is a step toward dismantling
negative stigmas.
Digital should not take priority over live interactions
Hannah Benson
Columnist
@ElnnNewsNetwork
It likely comes as a surprise to
absolutely no one that we live in
a digital age.
We take photos of everything
that moves — we wouldn’t dare
miss a chance to post something
fun or interesting on our Snap-
chat stories. We even turn on our
locations to track our friends by
their phones because we would
be out of our minds to go some
where without them.
Millennials were born and
raised on the crutch of technol
ogy. While in most cases, this al
lows us to communicate with one
another with more ease, there are
cases in which technology very
openly obstructs communication
with those around us.
We all have a friend — or, to
some of our misfortune, many
friends — who, regardless of the
situation will answer a FaceTime
call during a private dinner
between the two of you. They'll
send a text while you’re in the
thick of a conversation or even
shush you so that they can hear
the phone call they’re making
when you’re alone together.
This is disrespectful in every
sense of the word.
When you make plans with
someone, the general under
standing is that they are choosing
to take time out of their lives to
spend with you, so the two of you
can indulge in something old and
archaic that our ancestors called
conversation, wherein you can
REGARDLESS OF
WHICH VERSION OF
THE IPHONE YOU NOW
HAVE OR JUST HOW
STRONG THE WI-FI
CONNECTION IS,THE
PHYSICAL PRESENCE
OF ANOTHER SHOULD
ALWAYS TRUMPTHE
ABSTRACT EXISTENCE
OFTHAT PERSON WITH
THE INCOMING CALL
OR TEXT.
delight in the company of one an
other. Regardless of which version
of the iPhone you now have or
just how strong the Wi-Fi connec
tion is, the physical presence of
another should always trump the
abstract existence of that person
with the incoming call or text.
To make or take a phone call
while you’re in the presence of
someone you made plans with
first is openly saying to the origi
nal friend, “You matter less to me
than whatever this other person
has to say.” You are openly choos
ing one person over another, and
the second person doesn’t even
have the energy or ability to come
find you in person themselves,
which is another punch in the
face at the original companion.
According to a recent study
by CNN, the average American
spends more than 10 hours a day
looking at a screen. You spend
so much time looking at screens
each day — why choose to do
that while you are in the pres
ence of someone you truly care
about, doing something that the
two of you do for fun?
Partaking in this digital
communication with an outside
source while in the presence of
someone tangible is not only dis
respectful and illogical, but it is
plainly rude. If you want so badly
to hear that outside person’s
weird dream or painful recount
of their day, go to them and get
that account firsthand. Anything
else is just discourteous.
And hey, if you choose to
ignore the warnings, you might
just lose the friends you had in
the first place. Who would you
call then?